


A Perfect Match

by hugsubin



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Accidental First Date, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Fencing, First Kiss, First Meetings, Kissing, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, all of the cameos are silly, tvxq is here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-08 17:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19475440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hugsubin/pseuds/hugsubin
Summary: Sangyeon is a champion fencer on the fast track to the Olympics, but a new fencer at the gym with equally matched skills completely derails him.





	A Perfect Match

**Author's Note:**

  * For [1213659](https://archiveofourown.org/users/1213659/gifts).



> Hi, this was supposed to be only around 1k words I don’t know what happened I hope you enjoy!!!

Sangyeon stood there, clothes drenched in sweat and out of breath with a red face that matched the color of his t-shirt that he had thrown on that morning because the fabric was soft. It was late. The gym was empty except for him and his conviction.

Training was hard, but he was at the top of his game. He was so close to reaching the peak of his career that he could smell the gold, but all that meant was that he had to train harder. He had to push himself past his limit so that no other athlete could touch him even if it meant spending hours after practice on a treadmill with an incline that bordered on abusive.

He checked his phone on top of his gym bag, sick of running. It was just past 10 p.m., and he knew he could stay a little longer, but he was ready to go home, have something to eat, and pass out next to a couple of high speed fans. He looked at the demon treadmill and to a set of weights. Neither of them looked that appealing. 

He took a shower there at the gym and changed into something dry. He stuffed his workout clothes in his bag and went home to his chicken breast and his spinach. 

The next morning, Sangyeon woke up sore all over with a nasty crick in his neck. He had slept on the floor in front of his fans to fight the summer heat, but it came at a price. He slapped on a pain relief patch and headed to the place that might as well have been his real home — the gym.

He was earlier than everyone else, and the sun hadn’t come up yet. All the lights were off, and the annex smelled like settled dust and mildew. In the early mornings it was a dead place, a crypt, but in a few hours it would be packed with passionate, hard working athletes, and it would smell just as terrible.

While he stretched, his coach came in in a bright blue tracksuit zipped up to his chin. 

He smiled and waved at the other athletes with his perfectly whitened teeth flashing around like a presidential candidate. Sangyeon sighed. He sensed he was about to receive some news.

“Sangyeon!” Yunho called out. 

Sangyeon’s body tensed. He stood up and brushed himself off.

“Yes, Coach!” He said sounding like a military cadet. 

“I’ve got some wonderful news,” Yunho said. Sangyeon was wary, but his coach appeared to be in a good mood. “The Olympic qualifiers are coming, and you’re on the fast track to making the team.”

He said it just loud enough for the other athletes to hear. All eyes were on Sangyeon, and he felt every single one of them bore into him. It wasn’t that everyone else wasn’t talented enough to make it, but he was just inarguably better than all of them and it was their fault for training in the same district. 

Sangyeon squared his shoulders. Yunho put his hands on them and squeezed. He leaned in and said just for Sangyeon, “Don’t let this get to your head. It’s still not yours yet.”

Sangyeon nodded. It was true that the qualifiers were coming up, but Coach Yunho was really just psyching everyone out. But still, that spot was just as good as his.

“I need to get changed,” he said to get some space to shake the pressure.

He put on his equipment, solid white and made to protect him from attacks that would never come. He didn’t bother with a chest protector this time or the lamé, but he did secure his helmet. He couldn’t trust anyone in the gym to not accidentally (or purposely) take one of his eyes out.

He headed to the main staging area. An opponent was ready for him when he approached. They bowed to each other and began.

Sangyeon was strong, but the other fencer was thin and agile. Sangyeon thrust his sabre at the fencer’s chest, but he slipped away, his feet twinkling beneath him. 

“I know you,” he thought to himself. Underneath his mask he smirked. The fencer’s feet may have been quick, but his hands… that was different.

Sangyeon got a clean jab at the fencer’s sword hand, and it was over. 

They bowed to each other, and Chanhee shuffled off with his tail between his legs utterly defeated. There was no one who stood a chance against Sangyeon.

He looked over to his coach, expecting some kind of congratulatory gesture or to be lectured on his technique, but Coach Yunho was talking to someone Sangyeon had never seen before. The other man looked slightly younger than Yunho and more relaxed, and next to him was a fencer with his gear on. 

Yunho pointed to Sangyeon. Sangyeon stepped towards them, but Yunho put up a hand to stop him. The other coach motioned the fencer towards him.

“Are we supposed to practice together?” Sangyeon asked.

“I guess so,” the fencer said. Sangyeon didn’t recognize his voice.

They bowed and awkwardly moved into position. 

When the match started, the other fencer lunged toward him like he intended on skewering him through the heart. Sangyeon stumbled back, startled. He parried the attack, but he couldn’t get in a touch no matter what maneuver he tried. 

The duel went on for what seemed like forever. He had never fought like this before with anyone. The other fencer was cunning and ruthless. Sangyeon couldn’t beat him.

The timer went off and they both stopped. They bowed to each other, and it was over. He hadn’t technically lost, but in his eyes )and his coach’s), he had been defeated. 

The fencer pulled off his helmet with a huge smile on his face. Sangyeon lost his breath. The fencer shook the most beautiful, soft, feathery hair he had ever seen. Beads of sweat trickled down a flawless forehead into sparkling brown eyes. 

He pulled off his helmet too, a fumbling sweaty mess. The fencer reached out and grabbed his hand, sending a shock through Sangyeon’s body not close to static. 

“That was fun,” he said.

“Yeah,” Sangyeon said, not really hearing him. 

Before Sangyeon could introduce himself (or get the fencer’s name), Coach Yunho came over with the other coach.

Yunho gripped Sangyeon’s shoulder. He winced.

“Great job, Haknyeon,” Coach Yunho said. “Finally someone who can keep up with our Sangyeon.”

Haknyeon smiled at Sangyeon as if it was a good thing. “Thank you.”

“I’d say he did more than keep up with him,” The other coach said. He was kind of soft spoken, but he was slick with his words, and Sangyeon could tell he was someone who was used to getting what he wants. “Wouldn’t you?”

Yunho chuckled and looked away. “Sangyeon, let me introduce you to my old college partner, Shim Changmin.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Sangyeon greeted him. 

“Oh, don’t be cold, Yunho, you did invite me,” Coach Changmin said. 

Sangyeon eyed his coach, trying to hold his expression. Why did he bring another athlete in? What was he trying to prove?

“Maybe I just wanted to see if you still had what it takes,” Yunho said. Sangyeon could tell there was more to it, but whatever it was, it wasn’t for him or Haknyeon to hear.

“I guess we’ll both see, then,” Coach Changmin said. “Well, we’re going to get settled in. Nice to meet you, Sangyeon.”

“Wait, you’re staying?” Sangyeon blurted out. He looked rude, but it wasn’t his intention.

Haknyeon turned back and smiled, “Next time I won’t take it so easy on you.”

Sangyeon swallowed. He had a feeling that, from then on, nothing at all was going to be easy on bim.

Sangyeon couldn’t do anything without thinking about Haknyeon. Thoughts of wanting to overcome him were overshadowed by thoughts of the shape of his hands when the removed his gloves or the way he looked after powering his way through half of the athletes at the gym. The only peace Sangyeon could find was on the treadmill.

They trained together every day, but in the hours of solace he found in the early mornings and late evenings alone at the gym, he could pretend like he didn’t have to. He ran until every inch of his body burned and he could no longer thing about pretty boys wielding sabres.

By the time he was completely numb, it was 7 a.m. and the others would be there any minute. He took a quick shower to clean himself up and headed to the floor.

Coach Yunho was waiting for him. “Good, you’re here.”

“What are we doing today, Coach?”

“I want you to focus on training with Haknyeon again today, but I have somewhere I need to be so Changmin is going to make sure you don’t hurt yourselves.”

“Where are you going?”

Yunho put on a pair of sunglasses. “Somewhere warm.”

_ Everywhere is warm it’s the middle of the summer.  _ “Okay, Coach.”

Sangyeon sat on a bench and waited for his partner and temporary coach. He wondered about the history between the coaches, but it wasn’t like he particularly cared, he just wanted to not think about Haknyeon.

It had been almost a week, and every match was the same. Every match was a tie. It was driving him crazy. Even if he pretended like it was Chanhee or Jacob, he couldn’t beat him, but Haknyeon never got a hit in either. It was maddening.

Coach Changmin and Haknyeon came in together not long after Yunho had left. 

“We training today?” Haknyeon said, bouncing.  _ This isn’t even a challenge for you is it? _

“I think so,” Sangyeon said, looking at Coach Changmin to wait for a real answer.

“Yes, I think so too,” he said. There was something casual to him. Compared to Yunho, he seemed like someone who went with the flow. Yunho was always burning with passion for no reason. “Haknyeon has been missing some gym time since we came here, would you mind spotting him?”

“Sure,” Sangyeon swallowed. 

They headed back to the workout room which was thankfully full of people. 

Haknyeon headed over to a weight training bench. “You don’t mind do you? I haven’t worked out in a while, and I’m starting to get stiff. Plus, trying to keep up with you, I feel like I need to start lifting.”

Sangyeon tried to conceal a smile. “It’s not a problem at all! I’ll be happy to help.”

He was really happy to hear that Haknyeon was also having a hard time with their matches.

Haknyeon laid down. “How long have you been fencing?”

“I guess forever,” he said. “What about you?”

“About five years,” Haknyeon said before lifting the bar above his chest. 

“Five years?” Sangyeon was doubtful. No one who fenced like that was a beginner.

“Yeah,” he said, strained. “There was a club at school, and a friend of mine asked me to join with him.”

“Oh…” Sangyeon’s pride was hurt. His whole life surrounded this sport, and yet he was practically being bested by someone who treated it like a hobby.

“It’s fun though, isn’t it,” Haknyeon asked, sitting up. “You get to pretend to be a space pirate in these suits.”

Sangyeon nodded. Maybe his problem was that he took it too seriously.

They spent the morning working out together until Haknyeon felt like he had properly caught up. Sangyeon pretended like the whole time wasn’t torture and that he wasn’t staring at him the entire time.

“My arms are jelly,” Haknyeon said. “Time to fence.”

They changed into their equipment and headed back out. Sangyeon hoped this time he had a chance at beating him, but as usual, there was no winner. And then there was no winner. And then there was no winner. Again and again the result was the same even if their matches never were.

Changmin clapped. 

The fencers stepped back from each other. Sangyeon’s chest burned. 

“That was great, guys,” Coach Changmin said. “I think it’s time we wrap things up.”

“What time is it,” Sangyeon asked, pulling off his helmet. 

“Sometime after 2,” Changmin said. “It’s a Friday. Let’s call it early.”

_ Call it early? _

“Already?”

“Yeah, Yunho said you would have been here since before sun up, so I’m sending you home too.”

“But!”

“Off you go!” Changmin shooed them. Haknyeon laughed.

“Alright, Coach, we’re going,” Haknyeon said. He grabbed Sangyeon by the elbow and whispered, “Get out while you still can.”

They went back to the locker room to change. They both needed to shower, but something about showering at the same time as Haknyeon felt inappropriate.

“You go first,” Sangyeon said, gesturing.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m going to make a phone call,” he lied.

Haknyeon left to shower, and Sangyeon checked his phone. He pulled up the sns app and checked his surroundings. No one was around to see him. 

He pulled up the search bar and typed “Haknyeon”. A fair amount of names came up, but none of them seemed to be the right person.  _ What was his last name again? Goo? Yoo? Boo? Ah! Ju!  _

He searched Ju Haknyeon and found him. He was from Jeju, but he had pictures of Hong Kong too. He wondered if he was the traveling type. There were lots of pictures of food and pictures of pigs. There were photos of him on a farm with his family. Sangyeon wondered what his family was like.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing!” Sangyeon yelped. He turned his phone screen down on his lap. 

“The shower is free,” Haknyeon said. Sangyeon was sure he hadn’t seen.

“Thanks,” he said, shuffling away as fast as possible.

Sangyeon was safe in the showers except he wasn’t safe at all. Haknyeon had been here. It smelled like him. It was a sweet smell like hotel soap mixed with washed away sweat. Sangyeon closed his eyes and stood under a stream of hot water and tried not to think about him at all. Not his soft hair, or his muscular frame, or his food photos, or his pigs, or his big smiling selfies. He stood like that until his skin turned red from the heat, but it wasn’t working.

He needed another good run. After Haknyeon left, he would head back in and spend the whole day running until either he stopped thinking about him or his heart stopped. Whichever came first.

Satisfied that he could no longer scrub himself, he finished and went back to collect his things.

“You’re still here,” Sangyeon said, sounding disappointed even though he wasn’t really at all.

“I thought you might do something crazy and wait until I left to go back and work out all day,” he said. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out with me.”

“Hang out with you?”

“I’m sorry if it’s weird, but I’m kind of new here and you’re like the first friend I’ve made since coming to the city…”

_ Friend?  _ “No, it’s not weird, I was just going to…”

“Work out some more?”

“Yeah, actually,” he laughed. 

“Come on,” Haknyeon said, taking Sangyeon’s hand.  _ No, no, no, don’t do that.  _ “Let’s go do something fun.”

Haknyeon may have dragged Sangyeon out of the gym, but he had absolutely no idea where he was going. Sangyeon drove him to a part of the city where a lot of people their age who didn’t live in gyms hung out. There were restaurants and shops and arcades and karaoke bars and clubs. Anything Haknyeon wanted to do, Sangyeon could pretend like he did it all the time. It was perfect.

They left the car in a parking garage and walked around. Haknyeon’s arms swung when he stepped and his eyes sparkled when he looked around at all the shops. 

“Do you wanna go in one,” Sangyeon offered.

“I don’t have any money,” Haknyeon said. “For shopping! I’m not a freeloader or anything.”

“I didn’t think that,” Sangyeon said. “Come on, let’s go just for fun.”

“If you want to!”

“Mhm!”

Sangyeon didn’t really want to, but he could tell that Haknyeon did. What could a little browsing hurt anyways? It counted as exercise, right?

They crossed the street to a clothing store Haknyeon had his eye on. 

“Oh, wow,” Haknyeon said. “Everything looks so cool!”

“Yeah it does,” Sangyeon admitted. He lived in gym clothes, but if he didn’t, he would have totally shopped there. It was a mix of college boyfriend and street style clothing for someone who either drove a sports car or performed in a kpop group. 

Sangyeon thumbed through a clothing rack full of shirts with different colors and prints. Haknyeon stood next to him and pulled out a short-sleeved button up shirt with tropical flowers printed on it. 

“This would look really nice on you,” he said.

“Really?” Sangyeon said. If Haknyeon thought so, he would have to buy it. He took a peek at the price tag, and his eyes bugged out of his head. “It might be too colorful for me.”

“You wear a lot of red don’t you?” Haknyeon held it up to Sangyeon. The tag flopped to the front. Haknyeon’s eyes also bugged out of his head. “You’re right that looks terrible.”

Sangyeon frowned. “No, not you! This shirt is awful now that I see it in the light! You look great.”

Haknyeon put the shirt back and went to go find something else.

They browsed for about an hour. Haknyeon looked great in everything, and Sangyeon was having a great time watching him try things on. 

After they had just about seen everything, Haknyeon found a sunglasses display. He tried on a pair of aviators with purple tinted frames.  “What do you think?

“You look amazing,” Sangyeon said, forgetting himself.

Haknyeon laughed, amused. “Amazing?”

“Great, you look good. You look good,” he tried to play it cool.

“Hmm,” Haknyeon said. “That kind of reaction, I might have to come back for these.”

He set them back on the display, with a bitter smile. 

Sangyeon grabbed them, not thinking. “Let’s get them!”

“Sangyeon, I can’t…”

“They’re on me,” he said. “It’s a welcome to the gym present. Everyone gets them.”

“You really don’t have-.”

Sangyeon put them on the counter. “I would like to buy these please!”

The girl at the counter was smacking her gum and looked him up and down. “They’re not on sale.”

“That’s okay,” he said, slapping his credit card down. 

She shrugged and rang them up. Sangyeon saw the amount and choked. 

“Here you go,” she said, hanging him a small paper bag with the store logo printed on the front. 

“Thanks,” he squinted at her name tag. “Yoojung.”

She smiled and went back to whatever she was doing. He handed Haknyeon the bag. 

Haknyeon frowned. “You really didn’t have to.”

“You looked sad,” Sangyeon said. “You shouldn’t go into stores without buying something! It’s bad luck.”

“But you said…”

“I was tricking you because I wanted to get out of the heat,” he said, fanning himself. “Oh, look at the time.”

“The time?”

“We should get something to eat,” Sangyeon said. “I’m starving.” 

“Good idea!” Haknyeon said, putting on the sunglasses. “Let’s go!”

They walked around together looking for food. They passed a few perfectly reasonable cafes, but none of them made Haknyeon’s eyes twinkle. They would not be going anywhere that didn’t make Haknyeon’s eyes twinkle.

“Oh, look! A pizza place,” Haknyeon said. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t really eat pizza,” Sangyeon said awkwardly. “You don’t  _ eat pizza?  _ Why not?”

“It’s not good for training,” he patted his stomach. “I don’t want to load up on carbs and dairy and make a mistake.”

“If pizza makes you bad at fencing, I will eat twice as many as slices as you so that you can finally beat me,” he teased. 

Sangyeon’s eyes widened. Was that a roast? Did he really? 

“Fine,” he said. “But only because I want to win.”

Haknyeon grabbed his hand again and pulled him towards the pizza place.  _ No! You can’t! No!  _

It was official, Sangyeon was never washing that hand again. Even if he had to wrap it in plastic. At the table he kept making a fist where Haknyeon couldn’t see. It wouldn’t stop tingling. 

They sat across from each other under a bright yellow light. It made Haknyeon’s skin glow, but Sangyeon was sure he looked like a wet banana. The waiter brought out two pizzas, one with lots of vegetables and one with chicken and a spicy sauce. Sangyeon wanted a beer to calm his nerves while he was throwing his diet away, but since he was driving and with Haknyeon, he wanted to look responsible.

They ate and talked, and Sangyeon had never been that hungry before. He thought he would never get full.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Haknyeon asked out of the blue. 

Sangyeon’s appetite vanished. He shook his head. “You?”

“Me neither,” Haknyeon said. Sangyeon released a breath in relief. “I’ve been looking for the right person, you know?”

“Yeah,” he said wondering what kind of person would be right for him. “I’ve just been so busy training that I haven’t thought about it.”

“Mm,” Haknyeon said. He looked down at his pizza. 

“Not that I wouldn’t though! Once I met the right person, I mean.”

Haknyeon smiled. He got up to sit next to Sangyeon. Sangyeon’s heart raced.  _ What are you doing? _

“Have you ever had a pizza wrap?” He asked.

“A what?” Sangyeon said, trying not to panic that Haknyeon had sat next to him when there were plenty of other places for him to sit. 

“A pizza wrap,” Haknyeon said. He took a slice of pizza and tore it in half. Then he placed some of the chicken they had ordered on top of it, sprinkled pepper flakes on it, added some parmesan, and rolled it up. “Here, try this.”

“Are you serious,” Sangyeon asked. “I’m not so sure about this…”

“Open up!” Haknyeon said. He held the “pizza wrap” up. Sangyeon locked eyes with him and would have agreed to give him both of his kidneys if he asked. He opened his mouth and let Haknyeon feed him. It was really hard to chew. “How is it?”

“It’s good,” he said, almost dropping the whole bite. He chewed through the wad of food and swallowed. “Is this how they eat pizza where you’re from?”

“No,” Haknyeon said. “I just wanted to see if you would try it.”

“Oh? Is that it?” Sangyeon grabbed the remaining half of the slice and doubled it with the other kind of pizza, threw on some chicken, and rolled it up. He shoved it at Haknyeon’s mouth. “You open up!”

“No!” Haknyeon said, cackling. “Please! I give! I give! I’m sorry!”

Sangyeon leaned into him and swiftly maneuvered the pizza towards Haknyeon’s mouth. Haknyeon squealed and tried to fight him off, but he was no match for Sangyeon. He reached out and grabbed his side. Sangyeon shrieked and dropped the pizza back onto the plate. He flopped backwards, but Haknyeon wasn’t letting him off that easily. 

Sangyeon squirmed as Haknyeon tickled him in their booth. He fought him off with both hands, but it was no use. Haknyeon was too strong, and Sangyeon couldn’t stop laughing. 

“No!” He cried out. He grabbed Haknyeon’s hands and intertwined his fingers so he couldn’t tickle him anymore. Sangyeon finally had a chance to catch his breath. 

“Ahem,” the waiter said.

Sangyeon and Haknyeon both looked up. Sangyeon let go of him once he realized where they were. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“Your check,” the waiter said, placing a single receipt down on the table.

“Thank you,” Haknyeon said, snatching it up before Sangyeon could move. He handed the waiter the amount in cash.

“I was going to pay for it,” Sangyeon said. 

“Consider it a ‘welcome to the outside of the gym’ gift,” he said. “Where do you wanna go now?”

Sangyeon didn’t have a chance to argue. Somehow they were back out in the street with a dozen places to be. Where did he want to go? He didn’t really know much about hanging out.

“What about an arcade?” He suggested.

“That would be fun,” Haknyeon said. 

They walked together down the street. Sangyeon hoped they would stumble upon one soon because he didn’t know where one was, but he didn’t want to find one too soon.

They were walking close enough that he could reach out and hold his hand. They were just close enough that he could brush his hand against his and see if Haknyeon would grab his again. Not to pull it somewhere, but just to…

Sangyeon folded his arms over his chest. He was being stupid. This wasn’t a date. They were just training buddies. Friends. Pals. Comrades. Dudes on the street going to the arcade. Two bros. Two platonic bros.

“Sangyeon, are you okay?” Haknyeon interrupted the voice in his head telling him how ridiculous he was.

“Yeah, why?” 

“Your brows look like angry seagulls, and you’re squeezing your arms…”

“It’s just indigestion,” he said. “I’m fine. I’m just not used to eating pizza is all.”

Haknyeon frowned. “I should have listened to you. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no!” Sangyeon waved his arms. “Really it’s fine. I didn’t realize I was doing it.”

“Next time, we’ll eat wherever you want,” he said.

_ Next time?  _ Sangyeon had butterflies. 

“Oh, look,” Haknyeon pointed. “An arcade.”

_ Oh thank goodness.  _

The arcade had neon cotton candy colored lights that pulsed with a cheerful girl group song Sangyeon had never heard before. He would have to add it to his running playlist even if that meant for 3 minutes he would have to think of Haknyeon.

It was the best afternoon he had ever had. He would never be able to make it up to Changmin for giving them the day off. It was like the universe knew he needed to spend time with him. 

Haknyeon seemed to be having a good time as well. He got a new pair of glasses, a belly full of pizza, and an evening at an arcade.

There was only one problem.

They were at the arcade in the middle of the summer on a Friday afternoon, and it was packed. There was barely any place for them to stand which meant they had to stand extra close to each other.

“Do you want to play a game?” Sangyeon said over the music.

“Do you see anything open?” Haknyeon yelled back.

Sangyeon scanned the room. Everything was taken by teenagers except for one.

“What about that?” He pointed to the claw machine. “Let’s try it.”

“Do you know how to play these?”

“I’ve never tried before,” he admitted. 

Haknyeon put some money in the machine. “You just have to move this little joystick around until it’s on top of the toy you want and press this little button.”

Haknyeon looked confident as he hunted for his premium choice plushie. He raised a finger and pressed down sure it would result in a most worthy prize. The claw descended and missed completely. Haknyeon laughed nervously. Sangyeon snorted.

“You try then,” he said, pouting.

“Alright,” Sangyeon said. “I’ll win your plushie and take it home with me.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Haknyeon grabbed onto him. “You can’t!”

“Oh?” He taunted. “What if I just…”

He moved the claw to the opposite side. The claw grabbed onto a box of candy.

They both gasped.

“Finally, something you can beat me at,” Haknyeon said. 

Sangyeon ignored him, thrilled by his new skill. 

“You know, if fencing doesn’t work out, you could always make a career scamming claw machines.”

Sangyeon moved the claw again and grabbed a stationary bundle. He wasn’t even paying attention to the prizes he found. Haknyeon bounced up and down.

“This is so cool!” He said, hooking his arm around Sangyeon’s elbow. He lowered his voice, “Don’t you dare take my plushie.”

“Like this?” Sangyeon said, moving the claw back.

“No! I didn’t mean it!”

Sangyeon lowered the claw. It latched on perfectly to the stuffed piggy’s body. Haknyeon gasped in horror. 

“No!” 

Sangyeon retrieved the prize. “I’ve always wanted my own plushie.”

Haknyeon pretended not to be disappointed. “You earned it.”

“Here,” Sangyeon said.

“No! You won it fair and square,” Haknyeon protested.

“I won it for you,” he said, pushing the stuffed pig to his chest. “Since you’re bad at claw machines.”

Haknyeon took the pig and hugged it. “I could have gotten it if you hadn’t hogged the machine all to yourself.”

“So I guess you don’t want this candy and this stationary either,” Sangyeon said.

“I want it!” He scooped everything up. He cleared his throat. “I mean, since you had all the fun I think I should take the prizes so that you understand that life isn’t all fun and games.”

“Give me the plushie.”

“No!” Haknyeon hugged his prizes tight to his chest.

Sangyeon smiled. He couldn’t believe how cute Haknyeon was when they weren’t training.

With nothing else to play, they headed out. It was only 6 in the afternoon, but they were both exhausted. Sangyeon drove them back to the gym since they both lived nearby. They said their goodbyes and Sangyeon went back to his apartment with a new kind of energy he never felt before.

If that was just how it felt to spend some time off with Haknyeon, he wondered what an actual date would feel like. They could hold hands a lot on a date. They could share food on a date. They could kiss on a date.

Sangyeon’s knees buckled. He hadn’t thought about kissing him before. He was so busy focused on wanting to hold Haknyeon’s hand that he forgot other things exist. Like kisses.

He thought about the shape of Haknyeon’s mouth, and his head spun. He thought about the shape of his fingers intertwined with Sangyeon’s. He thought about the shape of his shoulders underneath the fencing gear. He had to sit down. His heart raced. He grabbed his chest. He had never felt anything ache the way his chest did then. 

“I’m going crazy,” he said, clutching himself. “I’m going to lose my mind.”

He put in his headphones and tried to drown out his own thoughts with music. 

_ Only One - Boa _

_ Be Mine - Infinite  _

_ I Need You - BTS _

_ Playing With Fire - Blackpink _

_ I’m Your Boy - The Boyz _

“No!” Sangyeon cried out. He tossed his phone onto the bed. His music was literally going to kill him.

He turned on the tv. Maybe that would be a better distraction.

The couple on the screen held each other in a warm embrace and kissed each other sweetly and gently. He covered his head with his pillow. “I’m going to be sick.”

Sangyeon gave up and went to bed to stop thinking about Haknyeon so he could finally end up dreaming about Haknyeon.

Sangyeon woke up to sunlight flooding his bedroom, not sure where he was or what day it was. He felt like he had been sleeping for months. He checked his phone. He had three missed calls and a bunch of unread text messages all from the same contact — Coach Yunho. 

Sangyeon jumped up and threw on his workout clothes. He ran to the gym down the street. He couldn’t believe how late he was. 

When he ran into the annex, Yunho was sitting on a bench with his leg folded over the other. He was reading a newspaper. 

Sangyeon approached with caution. He stood there awkwardly waiting for his coach to notice him, wringing his hands. He cleared his throat.

“I see you finally decided to show up,” he said cooly. “Since you clearly have no interest or passion for this sport, I took the liberty of circling some job listings for you.”

“Coach! I have lots of interest and passion!” Sangyeon pleaded.

Yunho handed him the newspaper he had been reading. Several want ads were circled in red including a food delivery service and hotel maintenance.

“Coach!” Sangyeon called out as he chased after Yunho who was busy power walking across the gym. “I’m sorry! I’ll never be late again! I promise!”

Yunho spun on his heel. “Good, that’s what I like to hear. Take one of these ropes and jump until I know you won’t be late again.”

“Yes, Coach,” he tried not to show his frustration.

He jumped until he thought his legs would break. Yunho didn’t even look up at him. Sangyeon caught glimpses while in the air of his phone screen. He was playing a mobile game right there in the gym as if Sangyeon wasn’t actually going to die from jumping to death.

He wondered if Haknyeon was going to come in that day. What if he had already been there and he had missed him by over sleeping? He groaned.

“I hope that’s not complaining I hear,” Yunho warned.

“No, Coach,” he said. 

“Good. Keep going.”

Sangyeon kept his eye on the door, waiting, but Haknyeon never walked through it. Sangyeon felt a burning in his chest. He missed a step and tumbled to the ground, the rope tangled around his legs.

“I suppose you can stop now,” Yunho said. He stood up and helped Sangyeon up to his feet. “How was training yesterday?”

Sangyeon knew he had to be careful. If he said it went great, Yunho might get his feelings hurt. If he said it was awful, he would be badmouthing another fencer’s coach and also  _ his  _ coach’s friend. If he said they went home early and he didn’t spend the night training, he was going to have to get a job at McDonalds. 

“It went well,” he said. “I ran on the treadmill for a few hours, worked out with Haknyeon, and then we practiced with each other for the rest of the time we were here.”

“Haknyeon is talented, isn’t he,” Yunho scratched his chin, thinking. “You need to beat him if you want to make the olympic team.”

“I know, coach.”

“Good,” he said. “There isn’t much time left. You can’t study him because he wasn’t trained like you were, so you’ll have to just make yourself the stronger opponent.”

Sangyeon nodded. He didn’t really care whether or not he won against Haknyeon anymore, but he knew it was necessary.

Yunho continued his training for the rest of the day with weights and more fencing until Sangyeon’s arm was too heavy to hold up. Maybe it was because he slacked off yesterday, but something about that Saturday training was the most brutal workout he had ever had. Was it the pizza or was it something else?

Sunday, Sangyeon spent the day in his apartment not moving a muscle. The pain patches covering his body made him look and feel mummified, and every inch of his body felt like it was throbbing. He was worried he would never lift his sword arm again. Was this his punishment for having feelings? For liking something (or someone) who wasn’t this sport? Haknyeon was a fencer too! He still counted as fencing! It wasn’t fair. Sangyeon rolled over on his side, groaning. There was only a week left before the regional qualifiers, and he was, effectively, in the worst condition of his life. He needed to best Haknyeon in a match and go back to training in his usual routine with his usual diet. He couldn’t switch partners back because Chanhee has proven to be useless for his final goal.

He checked his phone. With relief, he discovered that he had no messages from his coach. It would have been too cruel to ask him to come in that day too. He felt some kind of regret, though. There was a certain loneliness to having no messages from anyone. He would have liked to talk to someone. He would have liked to talk to Haknyeon if only he had thought to get his number. He frowned. 

He pulled up the sns.  _ Ju Haknyeon.  _ There was a new post. A pink plush piggie on top of a stack of stationary. The caption read, “had a lot of fun with a new friend! I can’t wait to write a letter to mom with these! ^-^”

Sangyeon felt all warm and fuzzy. Haknyeon liked the prizes he gave him!  _ Haknyeon must miss his family a lot. _ And then he felt more sad. 

_ I will just have to be a really good friend to him so that he won’t be lonely!  _ But Sangyeon didn’t really know how he was supposed to do that. He himself didn’t have any good friends, just his gym and the people who trained there that he wasn’t that close to.

He somehow ended up idly scrolling through all of Haknyeon’s pictures again. He especially liked the selfies with the cat ears and the whiskers. 

He closely examined Haknyeon’s farm photos. It looked like such a peaceful place. He wondered if Haknyeon was homesick and felt bad. The city must have been terrifying for him to experience on his own for the first time. He had Changmin, but maybe Changmin was like Yunho and preferred to do things on his own. Was Haknyeon eating proper meals or was he ordering delivery? Did he have a place to stay? Sangyeon closed the app and covered his head. None of this was his business. 

That new burning sensation in his chest returned all at once taking his breath away.  _ What’s happening to me?  _ He tugged at his shirt and rocked back and forth.  _ Breathe.  _ He shoved his earbuds into his ears and found a peaceful tropical sounds playlist that would absolutely not have any love songs on it to torture him with except then he just imagined himself going to Fiji or Thailand with Haknyeon and swimming around together in crystal clear water where you could see little red and yellow fish swirling around their ankles. They could drink out of coconuts and eat tropical fruits and —  _ no! _

He snatched out the headphones and threw them, unable to handle these intolerable intrusive thoughts. He worried that he really was losing his mind. Despite his sore, tired body, he dropped down onto the floor and forced himself to do sit ups. Nothing about sit ups made him think about Haknyeon. His heart finally stopped aching, but he was afraid if he stopped, it would all come back to him.

On Monday he was the first person at the gym as usual, but this time he was too busy looking at the door to focus on his workout. He fumbled and dropped his weights and almost slipped and fell on the treadmill. Someone needed to show up and fast so he could clear his head and get back to work.

The other athletes came in one by one.  _ How can you all be fine? Am I the only one suffering here?  _ Their tired faces chugged protein shakes and began their monday as usual. It seemed that everything else was normal except for him which made things much worse.

He headed to the floor to accept his fate. His heart raced and he almost skipped. He couldn’t wait to see him, but there was no Haknyeon.

“Where is he?” Sangyeon asked Chanhee, almost screeching.

“Whoa, there, crazy eyes,” he said, taking a step back. 

“Where is Haknyeon?”

“Who? That new fencer you’ve been  _ exclusively  _ training with? I must say that I’m hurt…” Chanhee crossed his arms and pouted.

“Chanhee…”

“I’m kidding! Since you found a new partner I’ve actually been able to win a few matches. Finally. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I won something? Do you only ever think about your own score record? Some of us-.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m sorry,” Sangyeon cut him off. “Have you seen him?”

“No, I haven’t,” he flipped a strand of hair away from his forehead. 

“Thanks, anyway.”

“You’ll just have to practice with me today,” he said. “Oh, don’t look too disappointed, I’ve learned some new moves working with Kevin and Jacob. You’re finally going to meet your match.”

But he had already met his match. Luckily for Sangyeon, once he put his helmet on, he didn’t have to pretend like his entire day wasn’t ruined. It was horrible. It might as well have been storming outside, but no it was warm and sunny with partly cloudy skies. On the inside he was foggy and cold and disgusting. If Haknyeon wasn’t there the next day, Sangyeon was going to have to find him and drag him to the gym. But what if he was sick? What if he had gotten hurt? What if he had gone back home to his farm… Sangyeon felt sick. None of those possibilities were okay at all.

His match with Chanhee was sloppy. There were far too many times where Chanhee’s sabre came close to striking him. He heard his opponent snarl and jumped away from the lunge. Chanhee could feel it too, that he was so close to victory. His strikes became more aggressive and targeted, and Sangyeon’s parries were clumsy and half hearted.  _ Hit me. Hit me!  _

Sangyeon felt himself getting angry. This was taking too long. If Chanhee intended to beat him, he would have to try a lot harder than this. 

He lunged forward with his eye on the center of Chanhee’s chest. He yelped and barely parried the blow.

“Hey!”

“Hit me, then!”

Chanhee tensed and went for Sangyeon’s sword arm. Sangyeon moved, but not fast enough. The tip jabbed into his sore bicep. Chanhee finally beat him.

The two stopped out of breath. Chanhee pulled off his helmet and couldn’t stop smiling. Sangyeon rubbed his arm. He was never going to be late for practice again.

A loud steady clap approached them. Sangyeon tensed.

“Good job, Chanhee!” Coach Yunho said. “You played excellently. You’ve really improved.”

“Thanks, Coach,” Chanhee said, quite pleased with himself. 

Sangyeon couldn’t speak. He was too ashamed to have lost.

“Sangyeon, you were slow today,” he said. “Is something wrong with your arm?”

“I think I pulled a muscle the other day,” Sangyeon lowered his head. “Sorry, Coach.”

“It seems that can’t be helped,” he said. “Do some stretches today and take it easy. Chanhee, I want you to continue training with Kevin for the day.”

“Yes, Coach,” they said together. 

Sangyeon sloughed off to recover. He had never lost before, and he was devastated. He had disappointed himself and his coach all at the same time. It he ever needed something to clear his head of cute boy thoughts, this was it.

He changed back into his softer workout clothes and sat down to apply a pain relief patch to his arm.

“Here,” a voice said. “Let me help you.”

Haknyeon sat down next to him. He took the patch from Sangyeon and set it down on the gym bag. 

“How much did you see,” Sangyeon asked. His heart raced, but he couldn’t make himself look at him.

“If I said everything, would you be upset?”

“Maybe…”

“Then I saw you come in here rubbing your arm, and I don’t know what happened.”

Sangyeon rubbed the muscle idly. Haknyeon reached out and gently squeezed his arm. 

“Does that hurt?”

“No,” he said, his voice cracking.

Haknyeon took Sangyeon’s arm and stretched it out carefully. Sangyeon winced. “I think you maybe just over worked it.”

“I kind of overdid my workout Saturday.”

“You were here?”

“Always,” Sangyeon laughed.

“I don’t like being in the gym on Saturdays,” Haknyeon said, thinking aloud. “I guess I’ll have to get used to it to keep you from hurting yourself.”

Sangyeon almost choked.

“You wanted to beat me that bad, huh?” Haknyeon teased. 

Sangyeon looked away. “No…”

“You did!” Haknyeon continued to bother him while he massaged Sangyeon’s sore arm. “It’s not your fault that I’m the best.”

_ You are the best in the whole world. _

“Why were you late?” Sangyeon said after a long silence.

“I had somewhere to be this morning,” Haknyeon said sounding nervous like he wanted to say more but wasn’t sure if he should which of course made Sangyeon a thousand times more curious.

“Oh?” Sangyeon said. 

Haknyeon let go of his arm, and Sangyeon felt cold for some reason. 

“My coach and I went to meet some Olympic officials about the qualifiers,” Haknyeon said, placing the patch on Sangyeon’s arm. 

“You’re going to compete?” 

“Yeah, since I’ll be out of town for my regional match, we wanted to find out if I would have to go back, but they said I could be moved to this region since I’m training at this gym now.”

Sangyeon’s heart sank. This meant that he would have to compete against Haknyeon officially. This time there couldn’t be a tie. His life depended on it.

“I’m nervous,” Haknyeon continued. “At home, it was fine. I was confident I could make the final team because I was used to the local competition, but now I don’t know anymore. My mom really needs this too. The farm isn’t doing well lately, and I’m worried she’s thinking about selling it. I think making the team could save us.”

“Oh,” Haknyeon shook himself. “I’m sorry to just put all of that on you like that. I don’t really have anyone to talk to up here except for Coach, and I can’t really talk to him about this kind of stuff, you know.”

“Yeah, no, it’s totally fine,” Sangyeon said. “I’m glad you can talk to me.”

Sangyeon wondered if he should mention he’s competing too. Would that make things weird between them? He didn’t want that at all. In fact, if he could pretend he had never heard of fencing before until the competition, that would be even better.

Haknyeon examined the patch and was satisfied with his work. “You’re going too right?”

“What?”

“I mean, you’re like the best fencer I’ve ever seen so if you don’t go to the Olympics, you’re doing a disservice to our country,” he said with a big bright smile as if that meant they wouldn’t be competing with each other with all the weight of the world on their shoulders.

“I’m competing,” he said dryly. 

“Good! I can’t wait! But you need to take care of your arm first or you’re going to lose to someone like Chanhee again.”

Sangyeon glared. 

“He’s right,” Coach Yunho said, walking into the locker room. “We need to take care of your arm if you want to win.”

“I’m fine, Coach.” 

His arm ached, but he didn’t want to look weak in front of Haknyeon nor his coach who would most certainly punish him if he thought he was slipping.

“You’re not fine,” Haknyeon said. “I know I’ve only been here for a couple of days, but you would never let someone touch your sword arm. He couldn’t even get you in the chest after leaping in like Zoro.”

“He’s right,” Yunho said. “You didn’t make a mistake. You’re hurt. Get your things, we’re going to the hospital.”

Sangyeon imagined going to the hospital with Haknyeon who had just so bravely cared for his wounds and his heart jumped. He reached for his chest, but put his arm down. If Yunho noticed he was having these chest pains, he would never let him compete. This was Fiji all over again.

“Haknyeon, thank you for taking care of him,” he said. “Changmin is working on your paperwork, but you can practice with Jacob today.”

_ He’s not coming with is? _ Sangyeon couldn’t pretend like he wasn’t disappointed. They just got to see each other, and now he was going to have to leave? Now? Right then? Separated?

“I can come with you if you want,” Haknyeon offered.  _ Yes! Come with me! _

“You have to train too,” Yunho said. “But thank you.”

Haknyeon nodded and gave Sangyeon a supportive smile before he left. 

Yunho sighed. “Come on, let’s go.”

Coach Yunho drove a gas guzzling SUV that was too big for the both of them. Sangyeon felt like a child sitting in the big leather seat that could have sat two people. Yunho’s seat was pushed up ridiculously as close as he could get it to the steering wheel so he could reach the pedals. Sangyeon could not understand why he chose such an overbearing vehicle.

“I think we need to talk,” Yunho said.

“What about?” Sangyeon looked over at him. His face was pale and pieces of stubble from a bad shaving job peppered his cheeks.

“The regional qualifiers,” he said. “Haknyeon is also competing.”

“Yes.”

“You know?” Yunho seemed annoyed. “And that doesn’t scare you?”

Before Sangyeon could answer, Yunho continued. “I shouldn’t have invited them up here. That was a mistake on my part, but you will just have to consider him your final obstacle before competing for our country.”

“I understand.”

“Only one of you will pass the qualifiers. If Haknyeon had stayed at home, maybe you can have joined the team together, but this is just how it has to be.”

Sangyeon felt like he was going to be sick. If they had met under different circumstances they could have been real partners together. Haknyeon couldn’t be his rival. He just couldn’t.

He stared out the window for the remainder of the ride silently. Yunho sang along to the radio. Sangyeon was grateful that it wasn’t a love song.

At the hospital, the wait wasn’t terrible because it was the middle of the day on a Monday and also the middle of summer which he guessed meant that not a lot of people had the flu. 

The doctor was nice. She was an older woman with wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, but her expression was soft and didn’t make him feel like he had done something wrong by going there.

She squeezed his arm. It wasn’t as nice as when Haknyeon did it. His chest stung, but he held it in. She twisted and stretched him around. He winced. 

“I would like to take some x-rays first, but I’m pretty sure that you have a tear in your bicep. Have you done anything unusual lately.”

“He’s a fencer,” Yunho spoke up, probably covering up for the fact that it was his excessive punishment that injured Sangyeon in the first place. “His training is rigorous.” 

The doctor frowned. “Is this your sword arm.”

“Yes,” Sangyeon nodded. “You need to rest your arm for a couple of weeks until it heals, or you could have permanent damage.”

Sangyeon wanted to protest, but Yunho spoke first.

“Thank you, Doctor,” he said. “I’ll be sure he gets plenty of rest. He practically lives at the gym.”

The doctor chuckled. “I can tell!”

The three stood up to leave. “I’m prescribing a mild painkiller to help with your discomfort. Would you like a piece of candy?”

Sangyeon and Yunho sat in the parking lot with suckers in their mouths. Yunho cranked up the car to turn the air conditioning, but they just sat there quietly, not moving.

“It’s your decision,” Yunho said. 

Sangyeon nodded solemnly. He felt like he just had his hope snatched away and replaced with cherry flavored candy.

Yunho continued, “it’s your career and more importantly your body, so if you want to try again in four years, I won’t argue with you.”

“I want to keep training,” Sangyeon said. “I think I should still compete even if that means taking it easy until then.”

“It might not be good for you to be out of practice even for a day,” Yunho warned.

“I’ll ask Haknyeon if he’ll practice with me after everyone goes home,” he said. “If he knows I’m hurt, he’ll take it easy and just go through the motions with me.”

“Haknyeon is your competition,” he said firmly. “If he knows how you’re injured, he can exploit it. I’ll talk to Chanhee.”

“No,” Sangyeon said in a tone nearing disrespectful. “He’s my friend and I trust him.”

“There are no friends in this sport,” he said quietly.

“You’re my friend…”

“I’m also your coach,” Yunho said. “I only get paid when you win.”

Sangyeon reached across the large seats to nudge him. “Then as my coach, trust my judgement.”

Yunho put the car in reverse. “I’ll take you to the gym so you can talk to him yourself, but if this goes south, it was your idea.”

Sangyeon smiled. He could trust Haknyeon.

Sangyeon watched from the bench as Haknyeon cut through half of the fencers in the gym effortlessly.  _ Is this what we look like together?  _ Haknyeon looked like air and water cutting through rocks the way he moved so gracefully compared to the other fencers.  _ Haknyeon has never once bested me.  _ He had been so focused on the fact that he couldn’t beat Haknyeon, he failed to see that that meant that he was also just as skilled. Sangyeon was water and wind too, but to win he needed to be fire and earth as well.

After the last match, Haknyeon took his helmet off and high fived the other fencer, Kevin. Kevin was praising Haknyeon too much, and Sangyeon felt like it was time for Kevin to be transferred to another gym in another country. 

Haknyeon turned around and noticed him watching. He waved and ran over. Sangyeon waved with his better arm.

“What did the doctor say?” 

“I actually needed to talk to you about that,” he said. “Can we go somewhere private.”

Haknyeon looked confused. “Sure, can I change out of these first?”

“Yes, of course.”

After Haknyeon changed out of the fencing garb, they went out to the parking lot which was a mistake because of the heat, but there was no one out there at that time so it had to do. Sangyeon explained the issue with his injury.

“You can’t go to the qualifiers then,” Haknyeon said, not sounding relieved at all. Sangyeon was happy that it was true he could trust him.

“I have to,” he said. “I was actually wondering if we could secretly train in the evenings when everyone leaves so that no one notices I’m hurt.”

Haknyeon nodded. “I can do that.”

“Also, this is kind of embarrassing,” Sangyeon looked at his feet. “I’m not saying you're better than me or anything, but I also need you to take it easy it on me so I don’t make my arm worse but can still practice the motions.”

Haknyeon snorted and flipped his hair. “What do you mean, I’ve been taking it easy on you this whole time.”

Sangyeon rolled his eyes. 

“I’m kidding,” Haknyeon said. “I won’t do anything to hurt you.”

Sangyeon swallowed. He knew he didn’t mean it in  _ that  _ way, but just hearing it was enough to make him dizzy.

“Thank you,” he said, genuinely grateful. 

For the rest of the week, Sangyeon came in late and stretched while everyone else packed up to go home. He and Haknyeon went through the motions together sometimes without sabers. Practicing footwork felt silly like they were doing some kind of ritual dance, but it was nice to train. 

Haknyeon also came in later so they could stay late at night together without one of them getting too tired. One night Sangyeon didn’t get home until 2 a.m., but it didn’t matter because he was spending his nights with the most important person in the universe.

Eventually it was Thursday, and he realized that it meant that their time together was coming to an end. He wasn’t ready. Was Haknyeon sad about it too? He probably didn’t care. Sangyeon was just an equally matched training partner to him. His chest ached dully. He hit it with his fist.  _ Not now. _

The sun had gone down, and it was time to train. Haknyeon saw him and waved. 

“Hey!” Haknyeon said. “You’re late.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t feeling well,” he half lied.  _ I was too sad. _

“I was worried about you…”

_ Worried? About me? Me???  _ “I’m sorry I should have called, but I don’t have your number.”

Haknyeon frowned and took his phone to put in his contact information. “Let me text myself so I’ll have yours too.”

Haknyeon handed his phone back, and Sangyeon saw that he had a new text thread for a contact labeled Haknyeon with a heart emoji.

_ What does that mean? _

“Let’s get to work,” Haknyeon said. “I know we need to take it easy, but since the qualifiers are Saturday, I think we need to practice at like 75 percent velocity.”

“I think so,” Sangyeon said. He needed a normal practice for once. “Tomorrow we’ll try it at 95 percent then.”

They agreed on the plan. Sangyeon’s arm wasn’t hurting as much as it had on Sunday and Monday. He could handle it.

Hours passed that they practiced with increasing intensity. Sangyeon’s entire body prickled.  _ What’s going on? _

“You ready to do this for real?”

Sangyeon nodded and put his helmet on. He raised his saber. Haknyeon lunged at him, this time with power. It was true that it was only his 75 percent, but it still almost cut right through him. He parried it. His arm ached, but he felt alive. They danced around each other, each movement more ruthless than the last. Sangyeon thought he was going to collapse.

What was Haknyeon doing to him? Why did he want him so badly? He didn’t care about anything else, but the other fencer. The beautiful, trustworthy, smart, caring fencer who moved like water and air and was the only person capable of dismantling him.

His chest burned and ached again, but this time he couldn’t ignore it. He cried out. The sabre slipped from his grip and bounced against the gym floor. He pulled off his helmet and threw it. He clutched his chest and screamed.

“Sangyeon, what’s wrong?” Haknyeon took off his helmet and froze.

Sangyeon crouched down on the ground and cried out in agony. He looked up at Haknyeon, the sides of his mouth pulled back to show his full set of bottom teeth. Tears stung his eyes. Haknyeon approached him. 

“Sangyeon,” he said softly. “Did I hurt you?”

Sangyeon stood up and moved towards him, unable to control himself. He grabbed Haknyeon and pressed his lips against his, the force almost knocking Haknyeon off of his feet. The ache in his chest turned to fire that moved through his whole body. He tasted like salt and honey.

He knotted his fingers in Haknyeon’s hair, pulling him closer, terrified that Haknyeon would push him away and never speak to him again, but to his surprise Haknyeon kissed him back with the same intensity he had when they first practiced together. Haknyeon pulled him closer, and Sangyeon was all too aware of how restrictive his fencing gear was. His knees buckled, and he was ready to drag them both down to the floor. Haknyeon bit his lower lip and he heard a little sound escape from him.

“Wow, guys,” a voice said following a whistle. 

Sangyeon pushed himself away. Both he and Haknyeon had guilty red swollen lips. Sangyeon wiped his mouth. Chanhee stood there with his hands on his hips.

“Is that the secret of being a champion fencer? If so I’m going to  _ have  _ to inform the others,” Chanhee said, amused.

“What are you doing here,” Sangyeon said. 

“What, do you think you’re the only one with keys to this place?” Chanhee pouted. “I left some of my things behind.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t worry,” he rolled his eyes. “I have better things to do than tell everyone you too were making out in here after hours like everyone doesn’t already know.”

“We haven’t been…” Haknyeon tried to butt in.

“Sure, and I’m a millionaire with a pet tiger named Timmy,” Chanhee laughed. “If fencing doesn’t work out, you two should record yourselves and sell the videos. That was hot.”

Sangyeon was mortified.

“Where’s your things? Let me help you take them to your car!” Sangyeon rushed to help him to get him out faster.

“What’s the hurry! We’re having fun here!”

“You look tired, you should rest,” Sangyeon said ushering him out the door. “See you tomorrow!”

“Wait!” Chanhee protested. Sangyeon closed the door behind him and locked it. He put his back against the door. He was humiliated. 

He went straight to the locker room. He couldn’t face Haknyeon.  _ What did I just do? I’ve ruined everything. _

He wanted to kick himself. If he never fenced again, that would be his punishment for losing his senses. He could never look at Haknyeon again. He changed out of his gear and zipped up his bag. He was going home and never coming back.

A warm hand touched his back, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“Why did you leave,” Haknyeon asked quietly, his voice husky and tired.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-.”

Haknyeon turned Sangyeon around. He put his hand on his cheek. “Sorry for what?”

“I ruined everything,” he said. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“Okay,” Haknyeon said. “You’re forgiven.”

Sangyeon was shaking. Haknyeon held his face and kissed him. “Now we’re even.”

Sangyeon smiled, his heart racing but without any pain. “Aren’t you angry?”

“No,” Haknyeon said, walking Sangyeon back against the wall, kissing him again. 

Sangyeon grabbed the waist of Haknyeon’s shorts and pulled him closer. Haknyeon put his hands on the wall, boxing Sangyeon in as if Sangyeon had any plans to try to slip away. 

“I was waiting for his,” Haknyeon said breathlessly between kisses. 

“Since when?”

Haknyeon moved to light kisses on Sangyeon’s cheeks down his neck. “Since I saw you looking at my pictures the other day.”

He bit down. 

Sangyeon’s head spun. He was humiliated, but he had a hard time caring. “I was not!”

“Mhm,” he mumbled moving to his collarbone. “You accidentally ‘liked’ all of my selfies.”

Sangyeon cringed. He was busted. Haknyeon giggled and kissed him again on the mouth. 

“It’s late,” Haknyeon said. “We should get some rest and come in at the normal time tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Sangyeon said coming to his senses. 

Haknyeon was the first to leave. 

Sangyeon slid to the floor.  _ What have I done? _

Friday came too quickly. It was the last day of training for the qualifiers and everyone was on edge. Sangyeon seemed to be the only one there who was relaxed, but that was because he was riding a high of kissing Haknyeon a lot. If it got out he made out  _ twice _ with someone in the gym, he was going to be jumping rope for the rest of his life.

Chanhee spotted him and waved with his fingers and winked.  _ Please don’t tell anyone. _

Sangyeon walked over to his coach with his best “I haven’t done anything” expression.

“Good morning, Coach!”

“You’re in a good mood today,” Yunho said. “What’s that on your neck?”

Sangyeon reached up and touched where Haknyeon had marked him. “I got a small bruise at practice yesterday.”

Chanhee, nearby, snorted. 

“Something funny, Chanhee?” Yunho asked.

“No, sir, I was just cleaning my throat.”

“If you have a cold you can’t compete tomorrow…”

“It was just a crumb,” Chanhee smirked at Sangyeon.

“Okay, then…” Yunho said suspiciously. “Are you and Haknyeon ready to go all day?”

“Excuse me,” Sangyeon said, startled.

“You  _ have  _ been practicing together, haven’t you?”

Sangyeon could feel Chanhee staring at him. “Of course!”

Yunho eyed him. “Alright, off you go.”

Sangyeon hurried to change. Haknyeon was already there. 

“Hi,” he said, hoping that it hadn’t been a dream.

“Hey,” Haknyeon said shyly. It hadn’t been a dream.

They stared at each other for a while unable to speak. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Haknyeon said.

Sangyeon’s heart sank.  _ I’ve screwed everything up. _

Haknyeon walked up to him. He looked around the room before kissing Sangyeon on the cheek and left without saying anything.

Sangyeon was so happy he could explode. 

While he was changing, Chanhee came in with a smug expression on his face.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “The golden boy has got a secret and a big one too.”

“Chanhee, please…”

Chanhee waved his arms and shook his head. “Don’t worry, I'm not going to tell anyone. It’s just fun knowing that the fencing machine has a weakness. A very cute weakness.”

Sangyeon didn’t like that at all. 

“If you guys want some alone time in the showers later, I’ll be sure to keep everyone out,” he winked.

“It’s not like that!” 

“Of course it’s not,” Chanhee said, rolling his eyes. “You probably just hold hands all night and talk about farm animals or whatever it is he likes.”

_ I haven’t held his hand yet. And it’s piggies. You wouldn’t understand. _

“I’m already bored,” Chanhee admitted. “It was fun teasing you yesterday, but now I just want a boyfriend to makeout with. I wonder if Kevin is single...”

He left before Sangyeon could say anything. He wasn’t super worried about him, but it would still ruin his life if Chanhee went around spilling secrets. And besides, Haknyeon wasn’t his boyfriend. Or was he?

With the helmet on, Sangyeon could smile as much as he wanted to. Even though they were training at 95 percent, and it was physically exhausting, he was so happy he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t see Haknyeon’s face, but he could only hope that he was just as happy too.

Sangyeon was happy to report that his arm didn’t hurt, and he could tell that Haknyeon wasn’t holding back as much anymore while he was able to keep up. He was going to be able to compete as planned. Everything was going well in a “nothing can go wrong” kind of way, and it was perfect. 

They left when everyone else did at the end of the day to not raise any suspicion but also because they needed to rest for the big day. 

Sangyeon went home and changed out of his workout clothes. He was ready to relax when his phone buzzed from a text message. It was from Haknyeon. He thought he should be happy, but he was worried that everything was about to crumble. What if Haknyeon told him that it was a mistake and that he felt uncomfortable around him? If that was the case, then Sangyeon would never say or do anything to make him uncomfortable again.

“Can we talk?” The text message read.

“Yeah, of course, what about?”

“I was kind of hoping we could do it in person if that’s ok…”

Sangyeon thought he was going to be sick. Before he could reply, there was another message.

“You live nearby, right? Can you send me the address?” 

Sangyeon’s heart jumped. He sent him the address and rushed to clean up his apartment. He ran around shoving dirty clothes in secret places and shoved the food trash in the garbage. He lit a candle so that it would no longer smell like sweaty athlete in there. 

He changed into some jeans and a nicer shirt.  _ This is how I always dress! Promise! _

A knock came on his door. Sangyeon swallowed. He took a breath and opened the door. 

Haknyeon stood there smiling brightly with a big box in his arms. “Can I come in? This is kind of heavy.”

“Let me help you!” Sangyeon reached out to take the box from him.

“No! Your arm,” Haknyeon said, pushing past him. He set the box down on the table. Sangyeon was mildly embarrassed. “Nice place”

“Thank you,” he said, closing the door. “What’s all this?”

“I wanted to make you dinner,” he said, unboxing all the ingredients. “Do you like vegetables?”

“Of course,” he said, still not sure what was going on.

“Could you wash these for me?”

Sangyeon washed the vegetables Haknyeon had bought for them while Haknyeon prepared the chicken. The ingredients were similar to Sangyeon’s usual healthy diet, but Haknyeon assured him that he would be pleasantly surprised.

Haknyeon put the chicken in a pot with a bunch of medicinal ingredients and water and boiled them on the stove. Sangyeon uncovered the side dishes.

“What are all these?”

“My mom sent them with me when I came here, but I’ve been too busy ordering delivery food to eat them. I thought they would give us strength.”

“They look healthy,” Sangyeon picked up a container of seasoned mustard and smelled it. “They smell like home.”

“Does your family bring you food,” Haknyeon asked.

“They used to,” he said. “But Coach Yunho is so picky with my diet that they gave up.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t make you repent for eating a whole pizza,” Haknyeon teased.

“How do you think I tore my bicep,” Sangyeon half joked.

Haknyeon sucked his teeth. “Yikes.”

Sangyeon shrugged.

They had time to kill while the chicken cooked. Sangyeon’s curiosity was killing him. He watched Haknyeon nervously pretend to prepare more food. It was as good a time as any for one of them to say something. Sangyeon opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it. 

Haknyeon looked up. “Were you going to say something?” 

“I was going to ask what you wanted to talk about…”

“Oh,” Haknyeon said, looking away. 

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, right now,” Haknyeon wiped his hands on a cloth. “Okay, sure. We can talk.”

They sat down on the sofa together with enough space between them to sit another person. Haknyeon wrung his hands. Sangyeon was so anxious he regretted asking him to tell him what was on his mind.

They sat quietly there. A million thoughts sped through his mind, but he couldn’t speak. He stole glances out of the corner of his eye. Haknyeon looked pale.

“So,” Sangyeon said.

“So…”

Sangyeon looked at him hopefully. He couldn’t say what Haknyeon had to say for him because he had no idea what it was.

“You wanted to talk?”

“Right, sorry, I’m just having a hard time getting the words ready.”

“That’s okay! Take your time!”

Haknyeon took a deep breath and turned towards him. “Okay, I’ve got this. I think you’re really cool.”

“Really cool?”

“Yeah, really cool, and I don’t want to look like a loser.”

_ You could never look like a loser. _

Haknyeon continued. “But, I like you a lot, and I don’t really know how this dating thing works here, but I’ve been wondering,  _ are  _ we dating?”

Sangyeon stared at him. 

“Sangyeon?”

“Uhh…”  _ I should say something smart.  _ “Are we dating?”

_ That wasn’t what I meant to say at all. _

“I mean do you want to?” Sangyeon clarified.

“Do  _ you _ want to?

“I asked if you want to!”

“I don’t know!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?!”

Haknyeon covered his face. “That’s not what I meant!”

Sangyeon scooted over next to him. “It’s your decision. I don’t want to push you into anything.”

“You’re not,” he said. “Why else would I have asked you to hang out with me?”

“Because we’re friends?”

Haknyeon shook his head. “No.”

“We’re not friends?”

“Not that kind of friends.”

Sangyeon stared at him. Haknyeon looked more serious than he ever had before. He worried if he had started something he shouldn’t have.

“I don’t want to be your friend,” Haknyeon said. He grabbed Sangyeon’s hand. “If that’s okay.”

Finally, he got to hold Haknyeon’s hand, but it felt bittersweet. “So what does that mean?”

“I didn’t bring all of this food over just to tell you that I don’t want to be your boyfriend,” he said, resting his head on Sangyeon’s shoulder.

“I want to be your boyfriend,” Sangyeon said, his voice cracking. He was scared Haknyeon could feel his heart pounding.

“Good,” Haknyeon said. 

They sat together like that while the chicken simmered in healthy ingredients that Haknyeon’s mom packed for him.

“I need to check on dinner,” Haknyeon said.

“Do you have to?”

“Yes,” he said regrettably.

Sangyeon’s shoulder ached without Haknyeon on it. He looked over the couch at him in the kitchen. Haknyeon wasn’t the ruthless athlete he had been when they trained. He was cute and domestic.

Sangyeon went to the kitchen and clung to him. “It smells really good.”

“Thanks,” Haknyeon said, proud of himself. “I looked up the recipe on the way over.”

“You’ve never made this before?” 

“Nope!” He said directing a spoonful of broth towards Sangyeon’s mouth. 

Sangyeon blew on it and tasted it. “It’s good.”

“Is it?” 

“Yeah! You did good,” he said. “It might need some salt though.”

Haknyeon furrowed his brow and tasted it himself. “You’re right. It does need salt.”

They set the pot on the table with all of Haknyeon’s mother’s side dishes and some instant rice. It was the best meal Sangyeon had since he stopped eating his own mother’s cooking. He was very happy and didn’t care if this was a trick to make him sluggish for the competition. 

Between the two of them, they happily ate everything. After cleaning up, they ended up back in the living room. Sangyeon put on a movie, and Haknyeon pulled him onto the couch with him for pre-movie kisses. 

“It’s starting,” Haknyeon said, against his mouth.

“So,” he said. “You can keep your eyes open.”

But he pulled away anyways. Haknyeon returned to his rightful place on his shoulder and they folded their hands together. Sangyeon didn’t care if his hands got sweaty, he refused to let go. Holding Haknyeon’s hand was precisely what he signed up for.

The movie ended and neither one of them moved.

“Haknyeon, are you asleep?” 

“No,” he said. “Are you?”

“No,” Sangyeon laughed. “What do you want to do now?”

They checked the time, and it was late. Too early to end a house date, but too late for two athletes with the olympics just at the tips of their fingers to be lounging around together.

“I should get going,” Haknyeon said. His face was sad as though he didn’t mean it.

“You don’t have to,” Sangyeon said. 

“We need to rest,” he pushed himself up. “How’s your arm?”

“It’s better now,” he said. “If we meet tomorrow, you have to go 110 percent, okay?”

“What about 120 percent?” 

“Even better.”

They said their goodbyes. Not without taking as long as possible getting from couch to doorway. Sangyeon kept pulling his  _ boyfriend _ back to him and kissing him. Haknyeon wasn’t putting up much of a fight either. They were both dumb and happy and together.

If Sangyeon thought he was sleeping that night, he was mistaken. He couldn’t stop smiling and rolling around is his covers like a lovesick idiot. If this was a plot to weaken the competition, it was working. 

Haknyeon had sent him a goodnight selfie with cat ears which Sangyeon immediately made his phone wallpaper. He wanted to text him or call him, but he didn’t want to be annoying.

It was the worst night possible for him to have a boyfriend.

The competition arena was packed with fencers from throughout the region. Yunho and Sangyeon went together to discuss strategy and to make sure Sangyeon wasn’t late or anything. In the crowd, he saw a few of the others from the gym he trained at. Chanhee, Kevin, and Jacob were there already warming up. He didn’t see Haknyeon anywhere.

“Hey, where’s your head,” Coach Yunho said. 

“Sorry,” Sangyeon shook himself.

“It’s okay to be nervous, but this is the easy part.”

Sangyeon nodded. This is what he had trained his whole life for. It didn’t matter if he tore a muscle or if he failed miserably, that was the whole point of all the years he spent inside of a gym — to make it to the Olympics. This was merely step one. 

He didn’t have time to think of anything else. Even if he wanted to, his career and his future was on the line.

The matches began one pair at a time. The victor moved on to the next match in the bracket and the loser had the option of taking a seat in the audience or going home. Even if Sangyeon lost, he wouldn’t go home. He wasn’t going to feel like a quitter even for a moment.

He wandered around before his match and found Haknyeon. They nodded to each other from across the room. It was probably inappropriate to greet each other so he stayed on his side. 

The names of the fencers were listed on a large digital board on the wall with their assigned opponents and their match times. Haknyeon’s name wasn’t hard to find. He was the only Ju on the board. Sangyeon saw his name came after his, so he decided to sit in the audience and watch Haknyeon’s match.

The match went better than he could have imagined. It really gave him respect for the athletes at his gym, because none of them were ever defeated that easily. He cheered for his boyfriend who was the rightful winner of all things, and then changed into his own gear. 

He headed to the staging area, ready to compete.

“I wish I had someone out there cheering for me,” Chanhee gestured towards the audience. Haknyeon was sitting with his coach. They waved to him. Sangyeon waved back, shyly.

“He’s just here to support all of us,” Sangyeon said.

“Sure he is,” Chanhee said. “I wish that was me watching my dreamy boyfriend from the bleachers like your number one fan over there.”

Sangyeon side eyed him. 

“Relax, you’re not my type,” he said. “I’m just envious of the mood is all.”

“You haven’t told anyone have you?”

“What do you take me for? Some kind of gossip?”

Sangyeon pretended to not have heard the question.

“Anyways,” he said. “I just came to tell you good luck and that I hope you don’t lose.”

Sangyeon thought it was strange, but it didn’t matter because Haknyeon was watching him. He waved at him again, and put on his helmet.

The match ended swiftly and ruthlessly. His arm ached, but he could endure it. He looked out in the audience to find Haknyeon who was talking to Chanhee. He looked serious. Sangyeon didn’t like that at all. 

The competition went on like that with Sangyeon and Haknyeon watching each other obliterate the competition until it was down to the final three matches, and both of them had made it to the second to final round. 

Sangyeon looked up to the board and his heart sank. His name was paired with Haknyeon’s. They greeted each other on the floor.

“120 percent, right?”

“Right.”

They shook hands. It jolted him. It wasn’t just that he adored him and wanted to kiss him at all times, but they had never once bested the other in a match. What would they do if they tied again? What if the match went on too long and he injured his arm more? And on top of that, Yunho had warned him that it could come to this. Haknyeon knew all of his weaknesses. He knew where his injury was, and if he had nefarious means, he knew that Sangyeon wouldn’t have slept well the night before and would have been too tired to last for a long match.  _ What have I done? _

The match began. He felt a sickness he had never felt before. If he had been manipulated, he would never forgive himself. 

Haknyeon lunged first, like he always had. Sangyeon parried. The strike wasn’t as forceful as it was when they practiced at 50 percent.

_ What are you doing, Haknyeon. _

Sangyeon lunged forward and Haknyeon didn’t dodge him.  _ He’s going easy on me. _

“Come on,” Sangyeon said quietly so that no one else could hear.

“I might hurt you,” Haknyeon said.

“It’s fine,” he said. “My arm is better.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Hak, please.”

Haknyeon lunged and grazed his arm, this time with intention, but it still wasn’t his best.

Sangyeon thought about Haknyeon’s mom’s farm and how much he needed this and he was blowing it. He couldn’t let him throw it away like this. 

The match went on with more lunges and parries, but they were running out of time. He could tell Haknyeon was getting tired and losing his balance. Sangyeon had to do something before it was too late and Haknyeon ruined everything.

_ I’m sorry. _

Haknyeon lunged and Sangyeon thrust his chest forward, taking the tip of the sabre to his heart. Haknyeon jumped back, startled. Sangyeon stumbled. The blown hit harder than he could have anticipated. By the end of the match Haknyeon had three successful touches registered on the sensor. He won, but it wasn’t fair. Haknyeon stood there dumbfounded. 

Sangyeon left the floor as fast as he could, Coach Yunho on his heels. 

“What was that?!” Yunho said once they got away from the others.

“I lost.”

“I can see that,” Yunho said, furious. “How did this happen? I told you training with him was a mistake.”

Sangyeon shook his head. “He didn’t do anything wrong. My arm gave out. The doctor was right.”

Yunho’s shoulders dropped. It was all bad timing. Sangyeon felt bad for losing, but he didn’t feel like he had lost everything. His future was more than one sport. 

“Sangyeon!” Haknyeon came running down the corridor. 

Yunho left to give them some space. 

“Why did you do that?” Haknyeon demanded, hurt.

“Why did I do what?”

“You threw the match.”

“Because you threw it,” he said. He drank from his water bottle and handed it to Haknyeon. “I couldn’t let you throw your future away.”

“My future? This is your whole career!”

“What about your mom’s farm?” Sangyeon said quietly.

Haknyeon started to cry and turned away, breaking down.

Sangyeon pulled him into his arms. “You have to win everything. You have to get the gold medal. I’ll be fine. I can get a fencing scholarship somewhere and get an actual degree in something. I can try out again in a few years. I can take my doctor’s note to the official committee and demand they make me an alternate!”

Haknyeon sobbed into his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Sangyeon said, wiping his tears. “I’m going to be fine. You go out there are crush everyone. For both of us.”

He kissed him, and they walked back together once Haknyeon calmed down. Sangyeon watched the final match from the stands at the edge of his seat. Chanhee, Kevin, Jacob, and Coach Yunho were there with them. None of them new why he did it, and it didn’t matter. The most talented fencer at their gym was about to make them all proud.

When Haknyeon was declared the final winner and the newest member of the Olympic team. The group cheered and leapt from their seats. One of their own had made it.

“Wow!” Chanhee shouted. “Sangyeon, your boyfriend is  _ really  _ good!”

“Your what??” Yunho, Kevin, and Jacob said in unison.

Sangyeon laughed nervously. 

Kevin and Jacob looked incredulous, but Yunho was simply furious.

Sangyeon ran down the bleachers and hugged Haknyeon in front of everyone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you want, let me know what you think!
> 
> (I don’t know anything about sports or fencing this just seemed like a cute idea please understand).


End file.
